The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA ) yesterday after collating figures from rescue workers and others involved in the floods that recently hit the nation said the natural disaster has claimed 363 lives and displaced 2,157,419 people.
According to a report issued by the agency’s Emergency Situation Room released in Abuja on Monday, the floods affected 7,705, 398 people between July 1 and October 31, stating that about 18, 282 people were treated for injuries sustained during the incident.
The report also revealed that over 256 Local Government councils out of the nation’s 774 councils were badly ravaged by the devastating floods.
The report named Adamawa and Kogi states as the two states with the highest casualty figures.
According to NEMA’s Head, Public Relations, Yushau Shuaib, the latest figures were based on regular updates and data obtained from field rescue officers, response agencies and active volunteers in emergency management.
Meanwhile, the Director General of Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Dr. Anthony Anufurom, had blamed the massive flooding on the neglect of the early warning issued by the agency.
Anufurom said that his agency earlier published the rainfall prediction for 2012 season in February and presented it to the public in Abuja on March 1.
“On the 3rd of August 2012, the agency wrote to the governors of some states informing them that based on our observations and predictions, their areas were most vulnerable to flooding. They turned deaf ears to this warning and the result is what we are currently witnessing in the country,” Anuforum had said.
Statistics from NIMET had also warned of increased flooding in October, which added another 431 deaths to the casualty figure and leading to the displacement of 1,341,179, taking the number of injured persons to 29,689 p, while 610,806 houses were destroyed and thousands of farmlands affected in 2,389 communities in the country.
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